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【medical-news】英科学家实验室培养出人造肝
October 31 2006 at 03:38PM
By Robin Millard
London - Scientists at an English university have grown a miniature artificial human liver in a major medical breakthrough, British media reported on Tuesday.
It is hoped mini-livers could be used to test drugs, reducing the need for animal experiments, help repair damaged livers and eventually produce entire organs for lifesaving transplants, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
The organ, which is about the size of a thumbnail, was grown using stemcells in blood taken from umbilical cords.
Professor Colin McGuckin, who specializes in regenerative medicine, made the breakthrough with Doctor Nico Forraz at Newcastle University in northeast England.
While other scientists have created liver cells, the Newcastle team are the first to create sizeable sections of tissue from stem cells from the umbilical cord, the Daily Mail said.
The pair extracted blood from the umbilical cords of newborn babies. They were then placed in a "bioreactor" developed by Nasa, which mimics the effects of weightlessness. This allows the cells to multiply more quickly.
Chemicals and hormones are then added to encourage the stem cells to turn into liver tissue.
"We take the stem cells from the umbilical cord blood and make small mini-livers," said McGuckin. "We then give them to pharmaceutical companies and they can use them to test new drugs on.
"When a drug company is developing a new drug it first tests it on human cells and then tests it on animals before beginning trials on humans," he said.
And he added: "Moving from testing on animals to humans is a massive leap and there is still a risk. But by using the mini-livers we have developed there is no need to test on animals or humans."
They could potentially be used like dialysis machines, buying time for a patient's liver to repair itself or for doctors to find a replacement liver.
Professor Ian Gilmore, a liver specialist at the Royal Liverpool Hospital in northwest England, told the *** that the Newcastle team had made a "big ethical leap forward" in not requiring embryos to produce tissue.
"It is exciting because there is a real dearth of treatments available for people with liver disease," he said.
It is estimated that up to 10 percent of the British population have liver problems, mostly linked to lifestyle factors such as obesity and alcoholism, the *** said. - Sapa-AFP
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=117&art_id=qw1162300684553B216 Lab-grown human liver a medical breakthrough
October 31 2006 at 03:38PM
By Robin Millard
从羊身上培育人类肝脏称为医学上的突破
London - Scientists at an English university have grown a miniature artificial human liver in a major medical breakthrough, British media reported on Tuesday.
伦敦消息：英国大学的科学家已经培育成了一个小型的人类肝脏，英国的媒体在周二报告了这一医学成就。
It is hoped mini-livers could be used to test drugs, reducing the need for animal experiments, help repair damaged livers and eventually produce entire organs for lifesaving transplants, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
目前的期望是这种小型的肝脏可以用来测试药物，减少动物试验的需要，帮助修补功能损害的肝脏，最终目的是培育整个肝脏，来进行肝移植。英国邮报是这么报道的。
The organ, which is about the size of a thumbnail, was grown using stemcells in blood taken from umbilical cords.
这个肝脏组织有拇指甲那么大，是从脐带血中的干细胞培育出来的。
Professor Colin McGuckin, who specializes in regenerative medicine, made the breakthrough with Doctor Nico Forraz at Newcastle University in northeast England.
Colin McGuckin博士是再生医学专家，他与东北英格兰新城大学Nico FOrraz 博士共同创造了这一医学上的突破。
While other scientists have created liver cells, the Newcastle team are the first to create sizeable sections of tissue from stem cells from the umbilical cord, the Daily Mail said.
英国邮报称：虽然其它科学家也培育出了肝细胞，但是新城大学小组是第一个利用脐带血干细胞获得一定尺寸肝组织的。
The pair extracted blood from the umbilical cords of newborn babies. They were then placed in a "bioreactor" developed by Nasa, which mimics the effects of weightlessness. This allows the cells to multiply more quickly.
这一小组从胎儿脐带血中获得干细胞，然后放置到Nasa生产的生物反应器中，它可以模拟无重力的环境，有助于细胞的快速分裂。
Chemicals and hormones are then added to encourage the stem cells to turn into liver tissue.
然后加入相关的化学物质和激素，促进干细胞向肝组织转变。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-03-14 17:11
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